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Some Notes on Fundamentalism
Les Jameson
Hello friends,
Last Saturday I attended a very thought provoking event on religious fundamentalism at St. John the Divine Cathedral in Manhattan. It was called: "Religious Leadership and Fundamentalism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: A Response".
The speakers were all accomplished authors and theological academics. They are:
Karen Armstrong, Author.
The Rev. Jim Wallis, Founder of Sojourner’s Magazine and A Call to Renewal.
Dr. Susannah Heschel, Author and Professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College
Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf, President of Sufi American Muslim Association, U.S.A.
This document consists of my notes which pretty much captured the discourse on this timely issue. I hope you find this of value.
Best,
Les
Modern FundamentalismGeneral
Fundamentalism is present in all major world religions.
Fundamentalists are against the secular world. They fear it and feel threatened by its existence. They want to replace the secular world with their religious state or religiously based political process. An example in the U.S. is conservative Christians trying to take over the political process from local school boards to top government positions to gain a majority and effect legislation.
At first fundamentalist groups retreat from the rest of society to try to live a “pure” existence. Examples include orthodox Jewish communities, the Jonestown cult, the followers of David Koresh in Waco, Texas, Bob James University, and various Christian doomsday cults. They see modern, secular society as intrusive, sacrilegious, aggressive and arrogant.
Certain events drive them to extremes. For instance, after the conservative Christians were defeated in the historic Scopes trial (creationism vs. evolution), they became more militant and switched from supporting liberal causes to shifting to the political right, where they’ve been ever since.
Fundamentalists have a broad based resistance to modernity. They fear that their way of life will become extinct from the encroachment of modern culture.
The fundamentalist movements in our world, although reactionary to modern society, have been spawned by it. They couldn’t have happened at any other time. Literacy, availability of books and modern communications have contributed to the conditions in which fundamentalist groups have risen and spread.
Very often fundamentalist groups mix religion with political agendas. This is prevalent in the Middle East conflict, the Balkans, as well as the Islamic terrorist networks. Due to the extreme positions they hold and their perception of being in a fight for survival, the result is often a resort to violence. Also, conflicts that begin as political in nature can draw in fundamentalist elements. This occurred with the ethnic cleansing that happened in the recent Serbian massacre of 8,000 Muslims during the Balkan conflict in 1995.
They especially have reacted angrily to the rapid pace of modernization. For instance the Shah of Iran’s attempt to introduce western customs without sensitivity to the deeply ingrained traditional values of the Iranian culture resulted in the uprising led by the conservative cleric, Sheik Homeini, that toppled the Shah and established an Islamic state.
Fundamentalists who have become violent factions seek to enforce their agenda through violence which has taken on a different characteristic. They feel it’s “redemptive” violence. They feel it’s justified and condoned by God. They feel they have a duty to carry out their missions even through violent means. This is a distortion of actual spiritual concepts contained in scripture.
There are secular forms of fundamentalism. This includes groups who rigidly resist religion’s role in society and seek to exclude spirituality from every facet of life.
The end result is that we have a world in ideological struggle.
After September 11, fundamentalism cannot be ignored. It must be dealt with. Suppressing it doesn’t work. Secular means of dealing with fundamentalists, such as military solutions, only confirm their fears of annihilation. Exploiting fundamentalists doesn’t work. We see this in the earlier support of Bin Laden coming back to haunt us. With the potential for widespread devastation, the gulf between fundamentalism and moderate, secular society must be bridged.
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Jews experience modernity as a Christian phenomenon. Their belief system is characterized by rigidity. Changing one brick in their beliefs will cause the whole structure to fall.
For some, retaining a fundamentalist way of life is rooted in nostalgia. Also, they believe that manifesting their highest vision of their faith, and being true to their tradition requires strict adherence to literal interpretations of their historic belief system. They seek to preserve culture as it was, rather than modify it to modern times.
Orthodox Jews seek political salvation. They value having a pure homeland where they can experience a full Jewish life over and above all else.
The question is, “How can people experience a life wholly devoted to religious principles without having to be orthodox”?
Islamic Background & Objectives
A Muslim’s objective is to become perfect like Mohammed, the last prophet.
They have an aspiration to recreate the holy society which existed at Medina during the time of Mohammed and the next four generations. This ideal has always remained.
True Islam objects to violence and suicide. The idea of Jihad signifies the inner struggle against our lower instincts. Murder is sin.
Just as Americans view injustice as being unconstitutional, Muslims view injustice as being “un-Islamic”. They relate to perceived injustice and oppression from a religious standpoint.
In the case of militant Islam, the influence of the secular world becomes a perception of conflict between the Western world vs. the Eastern world. This has become a massive struggle with far reaching potential for war. They see themselves as being in a fight for their very survival. They point to western policies that support corrupt regimes and keep their masses impoverished. They see western secularism as being militant. However, moderate Muslims aren’t against modernity but want many of the benefits of progress that are enjoyed in the West.
They don’t see secularism as liberation. They don’t see it’s freedoms as beneficial, but as an assault against their strict interpretation of their faith and way of life. They feel their heritage is being denied. They see encroaching secular society and Western policies as coercive.
Since the end of the Ottoman empire after WWII, countries with majority Muslim populations were ruled by a series of oppressive monarchs. Indonesia is a recent exception. Moderate Muslims feel there is finally reason for hope due to Colin Powell’s recent declaration for the need to support democratic aspirations as a way to end conditions that foster terrorism. They are not in conflict with democracy. In the past their desire for democracy hasn’t been supported. Additionally, the West is stating the need to alleviate poverty. These two objectives will result in eradicating the societal roots of terrorist movements.
Secular Reactionism
Just as there is bad social policy and bad politics, there is bad religion. However, secular society feels the antidote to bad religion is no religion. Instead, bad religion needs to be replaced by better religion. We must look at how religion is interpreted and the danger of extreme interpretations. For example, you have Martin Luther King’s and you have the Klu Klux Klan’s interpretation of Christianity.
Ideas For Resolution
Although the religious traditions have been a source of much conflict, oppression and violence, they also have the seeds of justice, liberation and peaceful resolution. These seeds must be cultivated.
The alleviation of poverty and misery will have a dramatic impact on ending terrorism.
To alter the world, the religions can’t bring their dogma or cynicism to the table. There must be spiritually based transformation. They must bring hope, and above all, compassion which is a pillar of the Abrahamic traditions.
How we language and frame the issues will determine the future.